


Son Of Peter

by Minor Fandoms (HMSquared)



Category: White Collar
Genre: Cancer, Coming Out, Confessions, Developing Friendships, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mostly Gen, One-Sided Attraction, Post-Canon, Previous Romantic Feelings, Reunions, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27114121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HMSquared/pseuds/Minor%20Fandoms
Summary: A fifteen-year-old Neal Burke finds a picture of his dad. It sends him on a trip to Paris and a meeting with an old friend.
Relationships: Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke, Neal Burke & Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke & Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey
Kudos: 33





	Son Of Peter

**Author's Note:**

> I started watching White Collar again, and I’m remembering how much I love it. Since finishing it the first time, I wanted to do a fic where Peter’s son tracks down Neal.
> 
> I think there is an unspoken platonic love between Peter and Neal. They never said “I love you” (at least not with those words), but they expressed it with their actions.

The house was quiet, save for the fridge. Satchmo’s paw print hung on the cabinet door. No one else was around.

Fifteen-year-old Neal Burke sat at the kitchen table, earbuds in as he figured out pre-calc. His pencil tapped against the paper, Led Zeppelin on his lips.

His phone beeped: a text from El. The young Burke pulled one earbud out.

_ Dad left his glasses in the box under our bed. Can you get them? _

**_Sure._ **

_ Thank you, Neo. _

He started going by that in 8th grade. It’d been hard for his parents to adjust to. Elizabeth felt bad every time she screwed up. Neo didn’t care that much. He was just glad they accepted him for who he was, a gay math nerd.

The box was wooden, old. Neo pulled it open with shaking fingers.

He’d found the box in elementary school. Peter told him not to touch it. Every once in a while, Neo would see him open it. Now, he was learning its contents.

His dad’s reading glasses were cracked, but functional. Pulling them out, Neo’s hand grazed something. Sitting under the case was a photo.

It was of Peter and a younger gentleman. They were in tuxes, close but not awkwardly so. Peter had a dopey grin on this face. The other man’s expression was soft, but kind. Neo flipped the picture over.

_ Peter and Neal _

Elizabeth’s handwriting. Neo remembered them mentioning he was named after someone. “An old friend,” Peter called him. Now he was curious.

He swung by the archives on the way home. Neo searched the shelves, looking for 2014 newspapers. One was dated December 18, about ten months before his birth. He pulled it out and scanned.

There was an obituary dedicated to one Neal Caffrey. The man from the photo stared up at Neo, framed in black-and-white.

He remembered something else. One Christmas eve, Peter got drunk on a bottle of wine and started singing in French. Badly, considering Neo was taking it at school, but enough for him to understand.

Elizabeth had booked a hotel for the next month. She’d given him money for emergencies. Neo started looking for tickets to Paris.

He arrived at 9 a.m. the next morning. The streets were teeming with life. Neo had an idea of where to start.

He researched during the plane ride. Neal Caffrey was a fan of art and antiquities. Paris had something that fit both categories.

The Eiffel Tower pierced the cloudy skies, no one around except for him. Rain poured down and bounced off the metalwork. Pulling up his hoodie, Neo squinted.

He could see a figure on the observation deck. Gray hair poked out from a black fedora. A slick silk tie was pressed to his chest.

When Neo got off the lift, the figure didn’t turn around. He was leaning against the railing, staring out at Paris.

“I’m surprised he finally found me.” The man’s voice was like his face: soft and deliberate. Neo gulped.

“You’re Neal Caffrey?”

“The very same.” He still didn’t turn around. “Who are you?”

“Neo.” In the presence of this man, he was suddenly very nervous. “But my birth name is the same as yours.”

“Of course,” the former criminal chuckled under his breath. He blinked. “How old are you, kid?”

“Fifteen.”

“Your dad not willing to see me himself?”

“My dad has cancer.”

Neal turned around. His blue eyes were wide with pain. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight.

“How bad?” Neo thought a moment before answering.

“He’s starting to forget things. Hasn’t with Mom or me, but…” Neal winced, blinking back tears.

“Does he have any time left?”

“A few months. But they think it could be sooner.”

“And that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? So I can see him?” Neo nodded.

“He still has a picture of you. Looks at it from time to time.” Neal shook his head.

“If I step one foot into the United States, they’ll arrest me. I’ll never get to see him.”

“You were a consultant for the FBI, right?”

“Yeah…” Neo smirked.

“So call them.”

Two days after that, Neal and Neo were sitting on a hospital bench. Jones was just down the hall, arms crossed. Elizabeth had taken Mozzie out for coffee; she got to tell him everything.

“He’s ready for visitors.” The nurse was young, blonde, and not Neal’s type. He nodded, slipping a $20 bill into her hand.

“Thank you.” She took it with a surprised smile and nodded in return. Neo swallowed.

Peter was lying in bed, glasses on his face. He looked old for 67, wrinkly and gray. He stared at the ceiling.

“Dad?” Neo walked in first and squeezed his father’s hand. Peter looked down at him.

“Hey. Was wondering when you’d show up.”

“There’s someone here to see you.” He stepped aside. Neal quietly walked in, hands in his pockets. Peter’s eyes widened.

“Neal?” He sat up, stunned. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Paris.”

“I was. And then a very persistent someone found me.” Neal gestured to Neo. Peter smiled.

“That’s my son.”

“I’ll let you two talk.” He patted Neal on the shoulder and went out into the hallway.

The two friends stared at each other. So many things had gone unspoken over the years. Hugs and smiles that meant different things. Neal sat on the edge of the bed and squeezed Peter’s hand.

“How much do you remember?”

“How could I forget the best six years of my life?” Peter smiled, a chuckle escaping him. Neal’s face formed a grin of his own.

“There’s something I never told you, Peter. A couple of something’s, actually.”

“Oh?”

“I…” A tiny laugh escaped his lips. “I fell in love with you, Peter.” The retired agent’s eyes widened.

“Really? I didn’t realize you were gay.”

“I’m not.” Neal’s neck flushed pink. “And I knew you weren’t, so I didn’t say anything. Paris...when I got to Paris, I realized a few things.

“I fell for this couple, a man and a woman. We had a fling right after I arrived. And that’s when I realized. I don’t have to be gay to like men.” Neal pulled back and closed his eyes, waiting to be yelled at. He waited for Peter to start shouting about how much of an idiot he was. But it didn’t happen.

“It may not be romantic, but I love you, Neal Caffrey.”

“Yeah. The feelings faded, but the appreciation never truly goes away.”

They spent the whole day catching up. Neal found Neo asleep on the hospital bench and picked him up. He cast a long look at Peter, who had fallen asleep for the last time.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Some BTS fun:
> 
> 1\. This story takes place in 2030. I looked to see how old Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay will be: Neal is 53 and Peter is 67.  
> 2\. I headcanon that the last episode was on the show’s final air date: December 18, 2014. Neo’s birthday is the show’s seven year anniversary: October 23, 2015.  
> 3\. Neo’s personality and backstory are taken from Matt Bomer and Neal. Neo is gay like Matt and good with numbers like Neal.


End file.
